e-chapter 7 -...

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e-chapter 7Qualitative Research

··>IearningobjectivesAfter reading this chapter, you should understand ...

1 How qualitative methods differ from quantitative methods.

2 The controversy surrounding qualitative research.

3 The types of decisions that use qualitative methods.

4 The variety of qualitative research methods.

>bri ng ing researchtol ife

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1160 >part 11 The Design of Business Research

:> What Is Qualitative Research?

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Managers basically do business research to understand how and why things happen. If the managerneeds to know only what happened, or how often things happened, quantitative research methodologieswould serve the purpose. But to understand the different meanings that people place on their experi-ences often requires research techniques that delve more deeply into people's hidden interpretations,understandings, and motivations. Qualitative research is designed to tell the researcher how (process)and why (meaning) things happen as they do.

Qualitative research includes an "array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode,translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or lessnaturally occurring phenomena in the social world." Qualitative techniques are used at both the data col-lection and data analysis stages of a research project. At the data collection stafe, the array of techniquesinc"ttldes focus groups, individual depth interviews (IDIs), case studies, ethn9graphy, grounded theory,action research, and observation. During analysis, the qualitative researcher uS5s content analysis of writ-ten or recorded materials drawn from personal expressions by participants, be~avioral observations, anddebriefing of observers, as well as the study of artifacts and trace evidence from Ithephysical environment.Observation as a methodology deserves special attention and is covered in detail in Chapter 8.

Qualitative research aims to achieve an in-depth understanding of a situation, whether it explainswhy a person entering a Kroger grocery proceeds down each aisle" in turn or heads for the rear ofthe store and chooses only alternate aisles thereafter or explains why some advertisements makeus laugh and contribute to our commitment to a brand while others generate outrage and boycotts.Judith Langer, a noted qualitative researcher, indicates that qualitative research is ideal if you wantto extract feelings, emotions, motivations, perceptions,consumer"language," or self-described be-havior,? Exhibit 7-1 offers some examples of appropriate uses of qualitative research in business.

Qualitative research draws data from a variety of sources, including the following." ..

• People (individuals or groups).

• Organizations or institutions.

• Texts (published, including virtual ones).00 Settings and environments (visual/sensory and virtual material). I• Objects, artifacts, media products (textual/visual/sensory and virtual material).

• Events and happenings (textual/visual/sensory and virtual material). I

In this chapter we will focus on the qualitative methods that draw data from people and organiza-tions. The next chapter focuses on observation studies, which many authots consider an importantcontribution to qualitative data and which also contribute to t.he last four catekories.

::-Qualitative versus Quantitative ResearchThe ControversyQualitative research methodologies have roots in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, so-ciology, psychology, linguistics, communication, economics, and semiotics. Historically, qualitativemethodologies have been available much longer-some as early as the 19th century-than the quan-titative tools marketers rely on so heavily. Possibly because of their origins, qualitative methods don'tenjoy the unqualified endorsement of upper management. Many senior managers maintain that qualita-tive data are too subjective and susceptible to human error and bias in data collection and interpreta-tion. They believe such research provides an unstable foundation for expen1ive and critical businessdecisions. The fact that results cannot Ibe generalized from a qualitative study to a larger population isconsidered a fundamental weakness.

Increasingly, however, managers are returning to these techniques as quantitative tech-niques fall short of providing the insights needed to make those ever-mare-expensive business

>chapter 7 QualitativeResearch 161

come through employee referrals- the highest from anyoneparticular source." Is it a logical extension, then, to see ifnetworking can be leveragedfor performance review?

Ryppleis a company stepping into the social-networking-for-performance-reviewsspace, taking Cl page from Facebook andTwitter, to make performance appraisal research more useful. ".'''''''What's a Rypple? Think of it as a Tweet with a purpose. With

. Rypple you can ask a question like, "What can I do to makeYOU more effective in your role?" cf( "What can I do to help usbe more effective in reaching our division's goals?" Using con-tacts from existingsources like Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, Gmail,or Facebook, you select prospects to receive a brief messagerequestingfeedback. The message contains a link to a short on-line form where the contact types in his or her response (calleda rypple)to the singlequestion. Feedback is aggregated, quicklyreturned, and semi-anonymous (restricted to those contacts towhom you sent your rnessaqe)."Rypple indicates 50 percent ofthose asked for feedback will provide it.

Daniel Portillo, the senior director of personnel at Mozilla,makers of the Firefox browser, tried it. "It's impossible to de-velop if you're not getting constructive critlcisrn." He discovered"people are direct. but not malicious.v'

www.rypple.com; www.kenexa.com; www.glassdoor.com;www.jobvent.com; www.mozilla.com

~~t~~::;5:'::~:~'h~:::U:~t:e:~':::'t:eb::l~':::i:::::'~:O::. qual itativedatathroughe,al ngThoroughly justifying the methodology or combination of methodologies chosen.

" Executing the chosen methodology in its natural setting (field study) rather than a highlycontrolled setting (laboratory).

Choosing sample participants for relevance to the breadth of the issue rather than how well theyrepresent the target population.

Developing and including questions that reveal the erceptions to a rule or theory.

Carefully structuring the data analysis.

Comparing data across multiple sources and differenr contexts.

Conducting peer-researcher debriefing on results for jadded clarity, additional insights, andreduced bias.

Many successful leaders understand that performance feed-back is important. They know how meaningful it was to themin Itheir personal and career growth. As a result, many sue-cessful organizations have 360-degree formal feedback sys-terns. Employees have traditionally received this feedbackth~Dug~J.'I.i~riOdicsurveys completed by subordinates; peers,and supervisors.

An Accenture study, however, shows many middle manag-er~jvalue informal feedback, because the traditional formal re-viEjWprocess generates less specific feedback than desired andis not timely in its delivery. So with GenerationY moving intomanagement roles, can human resources (HR)leverageits loveof the Web as a way to enhance informal performancereview?

Employees comfortable with the Web are already using itto vent publicly about their job on sites like glassdoor.com andjobvent.com. Others create Google discussion groups or a Web

"'.J~umto discuss what they like and what they don't like abouttheir company; their industry, and even their boss. Some come

I:paniesareusing these anonymous tirades to identify and ad-dress workplace issues.

I Social networks have long been used in the hiring process.According to Kenexa. a human resource companyihat studies

-hurnan behavior and team dynamics in the workplace, and of-.fers software., business processes and consulting, "more than30 percent of the employees being hired in privateorganizations

To understand the distinctions between qualitative and quantitative methodologies, let's define the lat-

ter. Quantitative research attempts precise measurement of something. In business research, quanti-tative methodologies usually measure consumer behavior, knowledge, opinions, or attitudes. Such

162 spart 11 The Design of Business Research

>Exhibit 7-1 Some Appropriate Uses for Qualitative Research

: Decision Arena Questions to be Ansyvered

Job Analysis • Does the current assignment of tasks generate the most productivity?

• Does the advancement through different job levels incorporate thenecessary training to foster the strongest performance? ,

Benefits Management

• How do various departments perceive the current effort to unionizeour plant? Where and what are the elements of discontent?

• Why have once-loyal customers stopped bLying our service?

I'

Retail Design

• Should our compensation plan be more flexible and custornizable?

• How do employees perceive wellness-prevention programs as com-pared to corrective health programs in terms of value?

• How do consumers prefer to shop' in our store? D~ they shop with adefined porpose;;:~>rare tMy aff~ted by 0Ter moth/es? •.

• What steps' are involved in cleaninq a.wood floor? Ho~ is our productperceived or involved in this process?

.. - Why does one d~~ogr~phic Of lif~style group use our product morethan anot.~en .. .

• Who areoLircustomersandhow·do· they use our product to supporttheir lifestyle? . ..

• What is the influence of cumreon product choice?

.! ".~ Process Underst~nding

Market Segmentation

Union Representation

Sales Analysis

methodologies answer questions related to how much, how often, how many,[ when, and who. Althoughthe survey is not the only methodology of the quantitative researcher, it is considered a dominant one.

The purpose of qualitative research is based on "researcher immersion in the phenomenon to bestudied, gathering data which provide a detailed description of events, situations and interaction be-tween people and things, [thus) providing depth and detail." Quantitative research is often used for ,•....•.theory testing (Will a $I-off instant coupon or a $1.50 mail-in rebate generate more sales for Kellogg'sSpecial K?), requiring that the researcher maintain a distance from the research to avoid biasing theresults. Qualitative research-sometimes labeled interpretive research because it seeks to developunderstanding through detailed description-s-often builds theory but rarely tests it.

Besides the purpose of the research, this process sets up several key distinctions between qualitativeand quantitative research, elaborated in EXhibit7-2, including level of resdarcher involvement; sam-pling methodology and size; data collection p\Q((ess,es, including participant breparation and researcherand research sponsor involvement; data type and preparation; data analysis and timing; processes forreaching insights and meaning; timeiframe of insight discovery; ancl the level of data security."

Unlike the case with quantitative data, both the researcher and research sponsor often have moresignificant involvement in collectin] and interpreting qualitative data. The researcher may serve as

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~Exhibit7-2 Qualitative versus Quantitative Research

'" 'I"

Sample Size

:.l;~.F articipant Preparation

Data Type andPreparation

-Data Analysis

Insights and Meaning

Research SponsorInvolvement

Feedback Turnaround

Data Security

• Pretasking is common

• Verbal or pictorial desptiptiOns

• Reduced to ver1:Ja1codes (sometimes with com-puter assistance) "

• Human analysis following computer or humancoding; primarily nonquantitative I

• Forces researcher to see the contextualframework of the phenomenon beingmeasured-distinction between fa ts andjudgments less clear

• Always ongoing during the project

• Deeper level of understanding is the norm; cje-termined by type and quantity of free-responsequestions

• Researcher participation in data collection allowsinsights to form and be tested during the process

• May participate by observing research in realtime or via taped interviews I

• Smaller sample sizes make data collection fasterfor shorter possible tumaround IInsights are developed as the resEjarctiprogresses, shortening data analysis

• More absolute given use of restricted accessfacilities and smaller sample sizes

>chapter 7 Qualitative Research 163

,• Computerized analysis-statistical and mathemat-

ical methods dominate

• Analysis may be ongoing during the project

• Maintains clear distinction between facts and.judgments

Limited by the oppo<fJO~@;~~~;~~l!\~>, and the quality of the;origU:j~t:d.?f~; t@if(;:!>~ >

" instrument, »'j/>:"'""::'\;' ~k!b,.",\ '..,:'~,~I':

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• Rarely has either direct or indirect contact withparticipant I '

• Larger sample sizes lengthen data cqllecfiCiHi " .' '"Internet methodologiesare:shortenin1:(tlirifiii:6d[ici" "but inappropriate tor fn~1Y~tVdie$'f;;;;fr}[tl!i!?X>

• Insight development follows data collection a.~cl'entry, lenqtheninq research process; iriterViewi'ngsoftware permits some tallying of responses asdata collection progreSSr3

• Act of research in progress is often known bycompetitors; insights may be gleaned by competi-tors for some visible, field-based studies

Source,' This exhibit was developed from material extracted from Judith Langer, The Mirrored Window: Focus Groups from a Moderator'sPaint of View (lthaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing, 2001); Hy Mariampolski, Qualitative Market Research: f Comprehensive Guide(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001); and David Carso1, Audrey Gilmore, Chad Perry, and Kjell GronHaug, Qual1tatlVe Market·ing Research (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2001).


a participant or a catalyst, as a parti ipant observer, or as a group i.nterview moderator. The researchsponsor may observe (in some caseslvia Webcast of interviews directly to the sponsor's desktop com-puter), influence interview questions, and add interpretations and insights during the process. By con-trast. with large quantitative studies. fh~ researcher who interprets the data and draws conclusions fromit is rarely the data collector and ofte~ has no contact at all with the participant.

Since researchers are immersed iJ the participant's world. any knowledge they gain can be used toadjust the data e.xtracted from the n~xt participan.·t. In quantitative research, identical data are desiredfrom all participants. so evolution 0 methodology is not acceptable.

Quantitative data often consist 0 participant.responses that are coded, categorized, and reducedto numbers so that these data may be manipulated for statistical analysis. One objective is the quan-titative tally of events or opinions, called frequency of response. Qualitative data are all about texts.Detailed descriptions of events, situations, and interactions, either verbal or visual, constitute the data.Data may be contained within transcriptions of interviews or video fo~us groups, J~well as in notestaken during those interactions. But by definition they generate reams of words that need to be codedand analyzed by humans for meaning. While computer software is increasingly used for the codingprocess in qualitative research, at th heart of the qualitative process is the researcher-and his or herexperience-framing and interpretin the data.' •

Qualitative stuclies with their sm lIer sample sizes offer an opportunity for faster turnaround offindings. While speed should never b the primary reason for choosing a methodology, qualitative datamay be especially useful to support low-risk decision that must be made quickly.

Multimillion-dollar strategies ma lose their power if the competitor reacts too quickly. Data secu-rity is therefore of increasing concern Both group and individual interviewing, the mainstay techniquesof qualitative research, can be condu ted in highly secure environments. In comparison, once a quan-

. titative surveyor field observation 0 experiment is started, it is quickly common knowledge among aresearch sponsor's competitors. Alth ugh the data might not be known, the area of inquiry often -can bedetermined. For example, in a test m ket-an experimental quantitative design-e-a research sponsor'scompetitors can often observe and e tract insights right along with the sponsor.

I .

The P:~P::~~'~:i~~~!~~l~,~j~~i~,~o:~~~~:J,introduced inChapter I.However, three key distinctions sugg sted in the previous sections do affect tHe research process: (I) thelevel of question development in the anagement-research question hierarcht prior to the commencingof qualitative research, (2) the prepar tion of the participant prior to the reSem[Chexperience, and (3) thenature and level of data that come fro the debriefing of interviewers or observers.

The qualitative researcher start with an understanding of the manager's problem, but themanagement-research question hiera chy is rarely developed prior to the design of research methodol-ogy. Rather, the research is guided b a broader question more similar in structure to the managementquestion. Exhibit 7-3 introduces the odifications to the research process.

Much of qualitative research inv Ives the deliberate preparation of the participant, called preex-ercises or pretasking, This step is il portant due to the desire to extract detail and meaning from theparticipant. A variety of creative and mental exercises draw participants' understanding of their ownthought processes and ideas to the su face. Some of these include.

Placing the product or medium or in-home use (with instructions to use the product ormedium-e.g., a magazine-re eatedly over the preparation period before the interview) .

• Having the participants bring vi ual stimuli (e.g., family photos of areas or rooms in their homesthat they hate to clean or have .tlUble decorating, or a favorite item of clothing).

Having the participants prepare' visual collage (e.g., taking pictures over several weeks, with aone-time-use camera, of their eh Idren's favorite outfits for different purposes or situations or cut-ting pictures out of magazines th t reflect how they feel when using a particular product or brand).

c Having the participants keep detailed diaries of behavior and perceptions (e.g., a record of theirstep-by-step experience preparing a meal usi ng a particular product).

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>chapter7 Qualitative Research 165

;;.Exhibit 7-3 Qualitative Research and the ResearJh ProcessI

I

Resear~h DesignStr~tegy

(type, purpose, time fra e, scope, environment)

Data CollectionDesign

Sample Size &Recruiting Plan

- -

.,;.. - ,- ~'.~.. ~'" - - -

Data COllecti+ & Preparation

1166 >part 11 TheDesignof BusinessResearch

e Having the participants draw a picture of an experience (e.g., what they felt like when they lastshopped in a particular store).

• Having the participants write a dialog of a hypothetical experience (e.g., how a conversation be-, tween the participant and a,sales associate w?uldprogresswhcll acomplaint was not resolved)."

Prctasking is rarely used in observation studies and is considered a major source of error in quantitativestudies.

In quantitative research, unless a researcher is collecting his or her own data, interviewers or datacollectors are rarely involved in the data interpretation or analysis stages. Although data collectorscontribute to the accuracy of data preparation, their input is rarely, if ever, sought in the developmentof data interpretations. In qualitative studies, due to the higher level of involvement of both the spon-sor and the interviewer/data collector, these parties in the process are often debriefed or interviewed,with their insight adding richness to the interpretation of the data. Exhibit 7-4 provides an example ofresearch question formation for a qualitative project.

>·Exhibit 7-4 Formulating the Qualitative Research Question

Sales in many of our establishedproduct categories are flat. We need

to increase revenues.

• What new product categories posethe best opportunities for sales?

• To what degree are we positioned inthe minds of our customers to takeadvantage of these opportunities?

·1 a Exploration

Literature Search and Expert Interviews• What new product categories show evidence

of 10ng-"termstrengtl1?· '• Which'prodl.\ch;afenodes match our.expertise

.ln manufactuiing?iil customer profile? indistribution? ' "

• In which categories do our current competitorslack competency? Have superior competency?

2a,Qualitative Research

Convergent Interviewing• Industry analysts• Futurists

• Engineers

• Does product A or B have the mostpotential for success?

• How should each of these bepositioned in the marketplace forbest performance?

lFocus Groups with'. Curre~t customersUsing I• Component sort,• Imaginary universe

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e-plcproflleWhen Anderson Analytics wants to help its research participants delve into their deepest thoughts on a research topic, theyuse projective techniques that employ a colorful cast of characters. Participants choose one from the cast that most closelyrepresents them or another they are trying to describe. They then attribute attitudes, feelinqs, emotions, and perceptions to

.):~e character. "The added bonus of the characters is that some of the characters elicit similar responses [across research proj->!:!ctsj,so we have some idea on benchmarking," shares Anderson Analytics managing partner Tom Anderson. "For instancejne heavier male character with the guitar is often thought of as an outsider, 'poser' wanting desperately to fit in, generally not

.:weiiliked." www.andersonanalytics.com .

> Qualitative Research MethodologiesTh~eresearcher chooses a qualitative methodology based on the project's purpose; its schedule, includ-in the speed with which insights are needed; its budget; the issue(s) or topics(s) being studied; thety es of participants needed; and the researcher's skill, personality, and preferences.

rc',. ". r;-~ -. ~: _ --".J;r~~9,~H BP" in9One general sampling guideline exists for qualitative research: Keep sampling as long as your breadthand depth of knowledge of the issue under study are expanding; stop when you gain no new knowledgeor insights. That said, sample sizes for qualitative research vary by technique but are generally small.A study might include just two or three focus groups or a few dozen individual depth interviews. How-ever unusual, one AT&T study, conducted to develop its 800 Reasons ad campaign for using AT&Tlong-distance service, used thousands of structured interviews in dozens of cities over several weeks.These interviews provided numerous reasons why businesses used the AT&T 800 service, and each ofthese "reasons" became the focus of a television and/or magazine ad in the multi-ad campaign."

Qualitative research involves nonprobability sampling-where little attempt is made to generate arepresentative sample. Several types of nonprobability sampling are common:

Purposive sampling. Researchers choose participants arbitrarily for their unique characteristicsor their experiences, attitudes, or perceptions; as conceptual or theoretical categories of partici-pants develop during the interviewing process, researchers seek new participants to challengeemerging patterns.

ISnowball sampling. Participants refer researchers to others who have characteristics, experi-

ences, or attitudes similar to or different from their own.

Convenience sampling. Researchers select any readily available individuals as participants.

168 >part 11 TheDesignofBusinessResearch

Hamilton Beach/Proctor Silex (HBIPS) is a small-kitchen-appliance powerhouse in the United States. HBlPS sold one inevery four such appliancesin the UnitedStates, and more than40 million appliances last year, so a global marketing strategy.seemed a logicalextension.But focus groups told the companydifferently.In Mexico,focus groups confirmedthat the brand wasconsideredqualityanti that the criteriaAmericanconsumersusedto select an appliancewould be mirrored by the Mexicans. Butthe story was very different in Europe.There, focus groups re~vealedthat HB/PS's lack of brand awarenesswouldn't be nearlyas much of a problemas its "clunky,""sturdy"designs.Europeanswanted aestheticallypleasingshapesand color in the appliancesthey chose for their homes, not the "professional,""institutional:or "large-capacity"products that Americanswere buying.

BGIGlobal,part of SYNOVATE,the ninth-largestresearchfirmin the world, coordinated the focus groups in Europe. Productdisplays similar to those found in Europeanretailersencouraged

interviewsr

arriving participants to explore the products that would later bediscussed and dissected. During the group interview, partici-pants were encouraged to provide a detailed narrative of theirlast.purchase within the small-kitchen-appliance category. HBIPS needed to understand the criteria driving the process andwhere decisions took place. The discussion guide driving thefocus groups in bOth countries was similar. But in Europe, thefirst group reinfor.cedfor David Israel,HB/PS's internationalmar-keting manager, the value of the focus group methodology-itsflexibility.As participants raised each new, startling issue, notesbegan flOwing to the moderator, encouraging participants to'travel down paths that the discussion guide hadn't anticipated.The focus groups helped HB/PS understand that it wasn't readyfor the Europeanmarket- at leastnot until its product designersredefined the product lines.

www.bgigfobal.com; www.hamiltonbeach.com

I

The interview is the primary data collection technique for gathering data inrqualitative methodologies.Interviews vary based on the number of people involved during the interview, the level of structure, theproximity of the interviewer to the participant, and the number of interviews conducted during theresearch.

An interview can be con1ducted individually (indi-vidual depth interview, or IDJ) or in groups. Exhibit 7-5

Icompares the individual and the group interview as a re-search methodology. Both have a distinct place in quali-tative research. I

Interviewing requires a trained interviewer (oftencalled a moderator for group interviews) or the skills

-----------------. ------- gained from experience. These skills include making re-spondents comfortable, probing for detail without making the respondent feel harassed, remainingneutral while encouraging the participant to talk-openly, listening carefully, following a participant'strain of thought, and extracting insights from hours of detailed descriptive dialogue. Skilled inter-viewers learn to use their personal similarities with or differences from their interviewee to mine forinformation; similarities are used to convey sympathy and understanding, while differences are used todemonstrate eagerness to understand and empathize. I

In quantitative research we are more interested in the data collector's following a prescribed proce-dure, whereas in qualitative research the individual conducting the interview needs a fuller understand-ing of the dilemma and how the insights will be used. So a skilled interviewer must be a "quick-study,"someone who can grasp an understanding of an issue without necessarily hhving prior experience withthe product or service or being a technical expert. I

The researcher chooses either an unstructured interview (no specific questions or order of topics

to be discussed, with each interview customized to each participant; generally starts with a partici-pant narrative) or a semistructured interview (generally starts with a few specific questions and then

62 The percent of wealthy consumersreporting that the state of theeconomy has changed their view ofluxury purchases . . . that flauntingluxury is insensitive.


>E:xhibit 7-5 A Comparison of Individual Depth mtervews and Group lnterviews

In,d~~MJ~.t~W!)Jerview Group Interview

litesearch Objective

" Explore lifeof individual in depth

i' Create case histories through repeated interviews over time

" Test a survey • Explore a range of attitudes, opinions, and behaviors

• Observe a process of consensus and disagreement

• Add contextual detail to quantitative findings

• Orient the researcher to a field of inquiry and the language of thefield

Participants

•• Time-pressed participants or those difficultto recruit (e.g ..elite or high-status participants)

., Participants with sufficient language skills (e.g .. those olderI than seven)

u Participants whose distinctions would inhibit participation

• Participants whose backgrounds are similar or not so dissimilaras to generate conflict or discomfort

• Participants who can articulate their ideas

• Participants who offer a range of positions on issues

follows the individual's tangents of thought with interviewer probes) or a structured interview (oftenuses a detailed interview guide similar to a questionnaire to guide the question order and the specificway the questions are asked, but the questions generally remain open-ended). Structured interviewspermit more direct comparability of responses; question variability has been eliminated and thus an-swer.variability is assumed to be real. Also, in the structured interview, the interviewer's neutrality hasbeen 'mai n tained.

Most qualitative research relies on the unstructured or semi structured interview. The unstructuredanf semistructured interviews used in qualitative research are distinct from the structured interview inseveral ways. They:

10 Rely on developing a dialog between interviewer and participant.

I" Require more interviewer creativity.

Use the skill of the interviewer to extract more and a greater variety of data.

Use interviewer experience and skill to achieve greater clarity and elaboration of answers.

Many interviews are conducted face-to-face, with the obvious benefit of being able to observe andrecord nonverbal as well as verbal behavior. An interview, however, can be conducted by phone oronline. Phone and online interviews offer the opportunity to conduct more interviews within the sametime frame and draw participants from a wider geographic area. These approaches also save the travelexpenses of moving trained interviewers to participants, as well as the travel fees associated withbringing participants to a neutral site. Using interviewers who are fresher and more comfortable in con-ducting an interview-often from their home or office-should increase the quality of the interview.Abo, depending on the group from which participants are drawn, there may be insufficient numbers toconduct group interviews in anyone market, forcing the use of phone or onJine techniques.

The interviewer needs to be able to extract information from a willing participant who often is not con-

sciously aware that he or she possesses the information desired. Th~ actual interviewer is usually respon-sible for generating the interview or discussion guide, 'the list of topics to be discussed (unstructured

1170 >part 11 The Designof BusinessResearch

:.Exhibit 7-6 The Interview Question Hierarchy

Broad Issue

What do participants consider entertaining?

Narrow to one topic:What type of movie do participants consider most entertaining?

Narrow the topic:

What do participants find most entertaining about action movies?

Narrow to the client's specific interest: IWithin action movies, how do the computer-enhanced or computer-generated

action sequences contribute to the movie's entertainment experience?

tsarce This graphic was .adaptsd from one .developedby Judith Langer and published in The.MirroredWindow: Focus Group from. a Moderator's Pointr"'{lthac" NY,Paramount Market Publishinq, 2001), www.paramountbooks.corn. I'

interview) or the questions to be asked (semistructured) and in what order (structured). In building thisguide, many interviewers employ a hierarchical questioning structure, depicted in Exhibit 7~6. Broaderquestions start the interview, designed to put participants at,ease, and give them a sense that-they-have alot to contribute, followed by increasingly more specific questions to draw out detail.

The interviewer is often responsible for generating the screening questions used to recruit partici-pants for the qualitative research. This preinterview uses a device similar to a questionnaire, calleda recruitment screener. Exhibit 7-7 provides the various elements necessary for a comprehensiverecruitment screen er. Each question is designed to reassure the researcher that the person who has thenecessary information and experiences, as well as the social and language skills to relate the desired in-formation, is invited to participate. Data gathered during the recruitment process are incorporated intothe data analysis phase of the research, as recruitment data provide additional context for participants'expressions. I

In general, then, the interviewer is a consultant with wide-ranging responsibilities: 10

o Recommends the topics and questions,

• Controls the interview, but alsopluns-and may manage-the locations and facilities for thestudy,

o Proposes the criteria fordrawing the sample participants.

o Writes the recruitment screener and may recruit participants.o Develops the various pretasking exercises.

• Prepares any research tools (e.g., picture sorts or written exercises) to be used during theinterview.

e- Supervises the transcription process.

• Helps analyze the data and draw insights.

G Writes or directs the writing of the client report, including extracting video clips for the oralreport.


~.Exhibit 7-7 What Is Included in a Recruitment Screener?For best effect, qualitative research takes creative, articulate, expressive individuals. Rnding appropriate participants isthe task of the researcher. Here are some common elements addressed at this phase of the research.

ProducVBrand Usage/Purchase Questions

Wfestyle Questions.'I . . . . .. .

Jtti~~dinal and Knowledge Questions.... ',",)i ,. . .

f!iCUlation and Creative Questions

OfferlT ermination

!rTojective Techniques

Reveal possible participant overparticipation or conflicts of interest; similar informa-tion on spouse or immediate family members.

;}:~~ii~;j'i#i,,;.~:ii~;~~i:dtt;Establish frequency of use, purchase, loyalty, etc .

.ES~~%;i~:::~i~I::'~h~~)~~~'"Look for breadth in perceptions, attitudes, opinions, knowledge .

Seek-evidence-that participant can a.rt~Uf~t$iHi~'opinions, scenarios might include pr6bIEJlfh~qf(; ..to confront an-unusual challenge.(~Whatcoqlct;:

Invite participation, discuss compensation and pretasking, set up interview, or indi-cate that the person is not right for the current study but may be right for futurestudies.

Be ause researchers are often looking for hidden or suppressed meanings, projective techniques canbe used within the interview structures. Some of these techniques include: 11 I

'.' Word or picture association

Sentence completion

Cartoons or empty balloons

!i

I

I

l

Thematic Apperception Test

Component sorts

Sensory lsorts

Participants are asked to match images, experiences, emo-tions, products and services, even people and places, to l.hat-ever is being studied. "Tell me what you think of when youthink of Kellogg's Special K cereal."Participants are asked to complete a sentence. "Complete thissentence: People who buy over the Internet ... "

Participants are asked to write the clialog for a cartoon likepicture. "Whar will the customer comment when she sees thesalesperson approaching her in the new-car showroom.,"

Participants are confronted with a picture (usually a photo-graph or drawing) and asked to describe how the person in thepicture feels and thinks.

Participants are presented with flash cards containing compo-nent features and asked to create new combinations.

Participants are presented with scents, textures, and sounds,usually verbalized on cards, and asked to arrange them by oneor more criteria.


I."···

e Laddering or benefit chain Participants are asked to link functional features to their phys-ical and psychological benefits, both real and ideal.

• Imagination exercises Participants are asked to relate the properties of one thing!personlbrand to another. "If Crest toothpaste were a college,what type of college would it be?"

• Imaginary universe Participants are asked to assume that the brand and its userspopulate an entire universe; they then describe the features ofthis new world.

• Visitor from another planet Participants are asked to assume that they are aliens and areconfronting the product for the first time; they then describetheir reactionsvquestions, and attitudes about purchase orretrial.; ..

• Personification Participants are asked to imagine inanimate objects with thetraits, characteristics and features, and personalities of hu-mans. "If brand X were a person, what type of person wouldbrand X be?"

• Authority figure Participants are asked to imagine that the brand or product isan authority figure and to describe the attributes of the figure.

• Ambiguities and paradoxes Participants are asked to imagine a brand as something else(e.g., a Tide dog food or Marlboro ICereal), describing its at-tributes and position .

• Semantic mapping Participants are presented with a four-quadrant map wheredifferent variables anchor the two axes; they then spatiallyorganize health insurance options, product components, or or-ganizations within the four quadrants.

c Brand mapping Participants are presented with different brands and asked totalk about their perceptions, usually in relation to several cri-teria. They may also be asked to spatially place each brand onone or more semantic maps. I

o Metaphor elicitation technique Participants are pretasked to collect images that reveal howthey feel about a research topic; during an IDI, participantsdiscuss each image and create a collage of their images, withemotions, thoughts, or perceptions rioted near each image.

Paper-based exercises often draw out less verbal members of a group. Projective techniques candissipate tension caused by sensitive topics or can be useful when Cl changel of focus in the interview

. is imminent. A well-trained interviewer is required if the research demands that one or more of thesetechniques be included within an individual depth interview or group interview. These techniques arealso time-consuming to apply, .Iengthening the time frame of the individual or group interview. They

.also lengthen the data analysis time.

individual Depth InterviewsAn individual depth interview (IDJ) is an interaction between an individual interviewer and a singleparticipant. Individual depth interviews generally take between 20 minutes (telephone interviews) and2 hours (prescheduled, face-to-face interviews) to complete, depending on the issues or topics of inter-est and the contact method used. Some techniques such as life histories may Itake as long as five hours.Participants are usually paid to share their insights and ideas; $1 per minute is the budgeting rule ofthumb for general consumers, but much higher rates are demanded by participants representing highlyskilled professionals."

l


When Samuel Palmisano became chairman and chief executive

of IBM, industry analysts didn't expect this 30-year IBM loyal-

ist to rock the boat. But he started a research program that re-

sulted in a very aggressive reorganization. The IBM strategy isn't

quite so novel-create a strong connection between IBM and

its customer-as is the extensive research behind it. Palmisano

wanted his employees to talk to customers about their most trou-

bling business problems. Rather than send the sales force to dothat job, IBM formed teams: the saies executive in charge of the

corporate account, a representative from the services division,

a person from the software unit, and someone from the IBM re-

search labs. These teams became known as "four in a box." But

what each team was asked to do was think outside the box:

figure out how IBM might help customers solve their pesky prob-

lems. And what resulted from all those customer interviews? A

reorganization of the $89 billion company into 12 industry groups

(e.g., banking, insurance, automobiles, utilities, consumer pack-

aged goods, telecommunications, life sciences, etc.) rather than

. its previous three divisions (software, services, and research}.

"The shift is~under way to make IBM an executive-level consulting

firm rather than a technology services company. The reorganiza-tion has IBM's labs, which used to focus on making machines

calculate faster and more efficiently, refocusing on modeling pat-

terns of human behavior to help solve business problems.

www.ibm.com

IInterviewees are often provided with advance materials via mail, fax, or the Internet. Recentlyrad-

vances in technology have encouraged the use of detailed visual and auditory aids during interriews,creating the methodology known as computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPIs). eAPls oftenu 'C a structured or semistructured individual depth interview. I"Sev~[al unstructured individual depth interviews are common in business research, including oral

hilstories, cultural interviews, life histories, critical incident technique, and sequential (or chronologic)interviewing. Exhibit 7-8 describes these techniques and provides examples.

~\Jianagingthe Individual Depth Interview

Participants for individual depth interviews are usually chosen not because their opinions aje rep-resentative of the dominant opinion but because their experiences and attitudes will reflect the fullscope of the issue under study. Participants for individual depth interviews also need to be vJrballyarticulate, in order to provide the interviewer with the richness of desired detail. Primary Insights Inc.developed its CUE methodology to help marketers understand the performance cues that co,nsum-ers use to judge a product. It uses purposive sampling to recruit individuals "with a specific interestin and aptitude for analytical thinking and discovering how things work." CUE combines in-homeproduct use with a diary preexercise, followed by individual depth interviews that extract what theP;ilrticipant saw, felt, heard, smelled, and sensed when interacting with the product. What evolvesis a hierarchy of sensory cues that clients may use when modifying products to improve customersatisfaction. I)

Individual depth interviews are usually recorded (audio and/or video) and transcribed to Prrovidethe researcher with the rich detail that the methodology is used for. Interviewers are also them-selves debriefed to get their personal reactions to participant attitudes, insights, and the qualityof the interview. Individual depth interviews use extensive amounts of interviewer time, in bothconducting interviews and evaluating them, as well as facility time when premises are occupiedfor interviews. And while some respondents feel more comfortable discussing sensitive topics orsharing their own observations, behaviors, and attitudes with a single person, others are more forth-coming in group situations.

"174 >part 11 The Design of BusinessResearch

:>Exhibit 7-8 Types of Research Using IDls

J~pes ,~. How Research Is Conducted How Rese

Oral History (IlS/1lItJvs) Ask participants to relate their personal ex-periences and feelings related to historicalevents or past behavior.

rch Is Used

To develop products. for example. books.[September 11.2001: Stories from 55 Broad Streetby EddiElT. Deerfield and Thomas T. NolandJr. (editors); An Album of Memories: Personal Histo-riestnmsne Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw.]

life Histories

Critical Incident Technique ..

Convergent Interviewing(convergent anddivergent interviewing)

Sequential Interviewing(chronologic interviewing)

Ethnography

Grounded Theory

Extract from a single participant memories andexperiences from childhood to the presentday regarding a product or servicecategoiy.brand. or firm. Participants are encouragedto share how the significant people in theirlives talked about or were involved with theorganization, how their attitudes or prefer-ences have changed over their lives withrespect to the organization, and how theirperceptions and preferences have beenaltered by their various life experiences.

The participant describes:

• What led up to the incident.

-Exactly what he or she did or did not do thatwas especially effective or ineffective.

- The outcome or result of this action andwhy this action was effective or what moreeffective action might have been expected.

Experts serve as participants in a sequentialseries of 101s;researcher refines the ques-tions with each interview in order to con-verge on the central. issues or themes in atopic area.

Approach the partiCipant with questionsformed around an anticipated series ofactivities that did or might have happened,in order to have the participant recall thedetail of his or her own experience.

Interviewer and participant collaborate in afield-.setting participant observationandunstructured interview.

Using a structured interview, each subsequentinterview is adjusted based on the findingsand interpretations from each previousinterview, with the purpose to developgeneral concepts or theories with which toanalyze the data.

~~~';~f:;. <:.',\-. ';::';;f"-"/ ;.::.i:;,,,:·!,TII,!:··~tlt~>:To determine positiqning for company prior to

arr l.D. or name change.(E.g.• Frosted Flakes and Tony the Tiger-ad

spots where adults feel they must appear in

disquise """'""'llh" eala "child's cereal.")

To evaluate manufacturing processes, personal.:'sales and .telemarketinqselesprcqrarns.compensation or incentive programs. orother management-related lncldents.

To develop appropriate questions for all typesof research (in exploratory research).

To determine store design, advertising devel-opment, and product design;. it is used toextract details related to shopping behavior,advertising consumption behavior, andproduct use beh~vior.

T d .' dl oesi d ..o etermine pro uct re eSlgn, a vertislnqdevelopment, positioning, distribution selec-tion; to discover reactions and attitudes ofstriking employees.

To determine product design or redesign andadvertising and promotion development.

ISource: This exhibit was developed from Hy Mariampolski, Qualitative Market Research: A Comprehensive Guide (Thousand Oaks, CA: SagePublications. 2001), p. 53; David Carson. Audrey Gilmore, Chad Perry, and Kjell Gronhaug, Qualitative Marketing Research (Thousand Oaks,CA: Sage Publications, 2001), pp. 84-89 and 152-157: Anselm Strauss and Julia Corbin, Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedurefor Producing Grounded Ti1eary (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1998).

>chapter 7 Qualitative Research

Group InterviewsA group interview is a data collection method using a single interviewer with more than one researchparticipant. Group interviews can be described by the group's size or its composition.

Group interviews vary widely in size: dyads (two people), triads (three people), minigroups (two to sixpeople), small groups (focus groups-6 to 10 people-unarguably the most well known of group inter-view techniques), or supergroups (up to 20 people). The smaller groups are usually used when the overallpopulation from which the participants are drawn is small, when the topic or concept list is extensive ortechnical, or when the research calls for greater intimacy. Dyads also are used when the special nature of afniendship or other relationship (e.g., spouses, superior-subordinate, siblings) is needed to stimulate frankdiscussion on a sensitive topic. Dyads and triads are also used frequently with young children who havelower levels of articulation or more limited attention spans and are thus more difficult to control in largeg oups. A supergroup is used when a wide range of ideas is needed in a short period of time and when theresearcher is willing to sacrifice a significant amount of participant interaction for speed.

In terms of composition, groups can be heterogeneous (consisting of different individuals; varietyof opinions, backgrounds, actions) or homogeneous (consisting of similar individuals; commonal-it} of opinions, backgrounds, actions). Groups also can comprise experts (individuals exceptionallyknowledgeable about the issues to be discussed) or non experts (those who have at least some desiredinfonnation but at an unknown level). . .

Driven by the belief that the data extracted will be richer because of the interaction, group inter-views are one of the few research techniques in which the participants are encouraged to interact. How-ever, given time constraints, group interviews permit spending only limited time extracting detail fromeach participant. 14 This problem is magnified when a group interview is structured to cover numerousquestions or topics.-4 Another drawback of the group interview is the increased difficulty recruiting, arranging, and coor-dinating group discussions. But this aggravation-which can be subcontracted to a specialist researchsupplier-is deemed a small price to pay for the insights that often are revealed by group interaction.

Interviewers are tested by the challenge of managing the group's conversation while avoiding in-terjecting themselves into the group's process. It is also the moderator's job to control the extrovert ordominantpersonality and ensure meaningful contributions from all others, including the most intro-verted or private thinkers. When control is not maintained, some members' opinions may be suppressedand valuable insights lost. Sometimes an individual will be more honest with a neutral interviewer thanwith a group of peers. One example is a group of small-business owners being unwilling to divulgecompetitive strengths and weaknesses. A skilled researcher can anticipate which topics are morellikelYto obtain good results with an individual or a group interview.

A group interview's structure and process include moderator interaction with the group and probingof the group to clarify responses. As a result, the moderator may create bias in the res Its by sendingverbal and nonverbal signals that some responses are more favorable than others. The moderatorlmightalso direct discussion down paths that are least likely to help the client. Only training, and subsequente I perience, can overcome these potential weaknesses of group interviews.

The skilled researcher helps the sponsor determine an appropriate number of group interviews toc nduct. The number of groups is determined by

The scope of the issuers) being studied: The broader the issuers), the more groups needed.

The number of distinct market segments of interest: The larger the number and the greater thedistinctions, the more groups needed.The number of new ideas or insights desired: The larger the number, the more groups needed.

~ The level of detail of information: The greater the level of detail, the more groups needed .

." The level of geographic or ethnic distinctions in attitudes or behavior: The greater these influ-ences, the more groups needed.

The homogeneity of the groups: The less homogeneity, the more groups needed.

The general rule is: Keep conducting group interviews unti] no new insights are gained. Often a limitednumber of groups will suffice, or sometimes the number might grow to 8 or even 12.

175


IFounder and principal re-

searcher Robert W. Kahle

o,f Kahle Research Solu-

tions Inc.. in his bookDominators, Cynics, andWallflowers, dissects typi-<r focus group partici-

~ants to illuminate ways

to modify their problem .

t~haViors. DoMINATORS

are all-knowing, quick to

answer, and choose aseat location in order to

challenge the moderator/for control. CYNICS dis-

play negative behaviors

rnd deride the ideas ofr; ::<·others .. HOSTILEShave an

agenda of their own and

seek corrective action;

they are often angry and

combative. INTOXICATEDSare under the influence of something,,'fidgety and incoherent. PROSELYTlZERScannot accept that others..hold opposinq opinions and try to persuade others to their opin-.

lion. BLATHERERSoffer long, off-topic answers and ignore mod-

.erator cues. JOKERSfind every comment source material for a

new joke, story, or comical facial expression. FOLLOWERStend to

repeat others' opinions. WALLFLOWERSwithdraw both physically

I

and verbally. Finally, CO-MODEllATORSoft/en engage participants

before a discussion starts, ask questions of their own, and seek.. to befriend or support other participants.

.Why is each of these behaviorsa problem and how would

you handle each of these problem partiCipants?

www.kahleresearch.com; www.paramountbooks.com

It is often preferable, depending on the topic, to run separate group interviews for different subsetsof the target population. For example, a study on nutritional advice may begin with separate consumerand physician groups to determine the best ways to provide the advice. This type of homogeneousgrouping tends to promote more intense discussion and freer interaction."

Researchers caution against forming groups solely on demographic descriptors, favoring "natural'"groups (like families, eo-workers, church members, etc.) where the participants share an affinity base. 11>

For customer groups, however, consideration should be given to such factors as gender, ethnicity, em-ployment status, and education, because culture.is a primary determinant of perception. In a recent ex-ploratory study of discount shoppers, the attitudes about the economy and pensonal finances expressedby East Coast respondents and West Coast respondents diverged widely. The research sponsor wasable to use information from group interviews to build a strategy tailored to each geographic area.'?

Regardless of group composition, it is the moderator who sets the tone' of the group. Homoge-nous groups often discover their similarities early and get along well. But with heterogeneous groups,the moderator must provide the ice-breaker activities that get the participapts interacting with eachother. As with individual depth interviews, the moderator is responsible for developing the recruitmentscreener and the group discussion guide. Exhibit 7-9 summarizes the facilitators and inhibitors of indi-

vidual participation in group interviews.


:'l>Exhibit 7-9 Factors Influencing Participant Contributions in Group Interviews

Personal Growth Participant'sdesire to increaseknowledgeor understandingthrough new perspectives;participant's desire.for new experiences, '

..'" \ •. ,y, ',','~'.,',:.",'.,"..',·..·.,.".:'..',,:'.:,i,. ,,-or,':;-,: -!'£o!i •• ·;;,·,·,-;ll~,·:- ,., ·.··5· o"c;'I",i."za'· 't'I·"'· n··. ','.:.:.' '-"':,,'.'..' .. ,'.... ...'., .

CIJ U . . <,.'.;.','.", """.'!"~:'."" ,': :.':;.'."~.•..',:"'.•,:',.,:..,.:.,..:.:,.:,r;;,;,'~.:,·.'..ttl:,.9l.·.,.·",;,•.,:::.:'<~::,.:,,>:: '.,.~:~.;;'.:;::':'.,: ':~.' .. -" .. ,,- ",'

I' Expectations Participant'saccurate understandingof the purpose of the group discussion,

Use of Abstract Terminology

I Ego Threats

.,;,,;Political Correctness

Ego Defense

Memory[)E;!C;~y

',Embellishment

Inarticulation/Rambling Accounts

Confusion

Reticence

Time

Dominating/Monopolizing

Moderatoror participant's use of terminologyor unfamiliarjargon.

Participant's ch~Uenginganother'parti~i~~1!~¥.';~~~~~,~~:;~tii~;~V~!~~" '.\:',: .,',

Participant'swithholding comments for fear that his or her contributions might beperceivedas disrespectful of another's knowledgeor opinions.'

Participant'swithholqir:1gacomment for-fear tjia!ir'\JnioteUigentor that the opinion will be~npop01a,r'Yriff:i;t~~,:

. '. - ' ... ; .... '~ ".,. :," ....

Participant's failureto remember incidents or detailsof incidents,. ",'.. _ . _ .... -.-:: .:·.·~Y.,: "·"_~~'::::~)'::;'<~·:_f~:~i..~;~¥;~!)~~~.~·;~~:Participant's creativeadditions to memories of behaviors in or€ler.to.p~rtici!¥If~rl4.lIx'.~(.:

inflatestatus. .. , "j';' .,....;,.<" :>";(;;~~!1iH;~!~;Ji/.....•.Participant's inabilityto express ideas quickly or concisely,

Participant's lack of understanding of the issueunder discussion,'

Participant'sneed to be invited to participate (ratherthan acti~elYvolunteeringcomments),

PartiCipant'sconcern about other obligations,

Participant'sattempting to take leadershipor the spotlight, thus blocking contributionsof others,

A closer look at one of the best known of group interviews, the focus group, may Clarif)(I' thesedistinctions,

!'-',PGUS Groups

The termjocus group was first coined by R, K. Merton in his 1956 book, The Focused Interview. Thefocus group is a panel of people (typically made up of 6 to 10 participants), led by a trained moderator,Who meet for 90 minutes to two hours. The facilitator or moderator uses group dynamics princirles tofocus or guidethe group in ~Inex~hange, of ~deas,feeli.ngs, and experiences on a specific topic. You'llfind a sample focus group dISCUSSIonguide III Appendix B. .

Focus groups are often unique in research due to the research sponsor's involvement in the process.

Most facilities permit the sponsor to observe the group and its dynamics in real time, drawing his orher own insights from the conversations and nonverbal signals he or she observes, Many facilities also


allow the client to supply the moderator with new topics or questions that are generated by those ob-serving in real time. This option is generally not available in an individual depth interview, other groupinterviews, or survey research. ,

Focus groups typically last about two hours but may run from one to three hours. Facilities usu-ally provide for the group to be isolated from distractions. Thus, the famous, or infamous, mirroredwindow allows those who are interested to observe the group while they avoid interfering with thegroup dynamics. Some facilities allow for product preparation and testing, as well as other creativeexercises.

Fewer and lengthier focus groups are becoming common. As sessions become longer, activities areneeded to bring out deeper feelings, knowledge, and motivations. Besides the creativity sessions thatemploy projective techniques or involve the participants in writing or drawing sessions, or creatingvisual compilations, other common activities within focus groups include: 18

I

'" ,...:",~.". 4f.:;;f.":::,,,;:': 1 .

• Free association. "What words or phrases come to mind when you think of X?"• Picture sort. Participants sort brand labels or carefully selected images related to brand personal-

ityon participant-selected criteria.

G Photo sort. Photographs of people are given to the group members, who are then asked: "Whichof these people would ... T" or "Which of these people would not ... T"

e Role Play. Two or more members of the group are asked to respond to questions from the van-tage point of their personal or assigned role.

Focus groups are often used as an exploratory technique but may be a primkry methodology. In twosuch cases, a small college used focus groups to develop a plan to attract more freshmen applications,and a blood center used a focus group to improve blood donations. 19 Focus groups are especially-valu-able in the following scenarios;"

e Obtaining general background about a topic or issue.

• Generating research questions to be explored via quantitative methodologies.

• Interpreting previously obtained quantitative results.

o Stimulating new ideas for products and programs.

• Highlighting areas of opportunity for specific managers to pursue.o Diagnosing problems that managers need to address.

o Generat~ng impressions and perc~ptions Of.brands an~ product i~~as. , IGenerating a level of understanding about influences m the participant s world.

Groups best enable the exploration of surprise information and ne) ideas. Agendas can bemodified as the research team moves on to the next focus group. Even within an existing focusgroup, an adept facilitator can build on the ideas and insights of previous groups, getting to agreater depth of understanding. However, because they are qualitative devices, with limited sam-pling accuracy, results from focus groups should not be considered a replrement for quantitativeanalyses. '

In the opening vignette, Sara Arens was involved in conducting and analyzing focus groups fora frozen-food manufacturer. Saras partner Jason is involved with assessing the CompleteCareservice program for MindWriter. For the latter project Jason and Sara could use focusgroups involving employees (of the call center and service departments) to determine sugges-tions for improvements and provide an analysis of proposed improvements. MindWriter maywant. focus groups with CompleteCare customers (both .dissatisfied and1~atisfied customers butrestncted to separate groups) to reveal the scope of attitudes and expe iences not documentedwithin complaints. ,

Other Venuesk:w Focus Gr'Jtlp interviews

Although the following venues are most frequently used with focus groups, they can be used with othersizes and types of group interviews.

.:

U.S. census data show a sharp rise in the number of people

who identify themselves as Hispanic, including many households

where Spanish is the primary language spoken at home. Today

35.3 million people are included in this group, a 58 percent in-

I crease over the prior census figure. To better reflect the spe-

cific needs of today's Latlno consumers, Hallmark enhanced its

commitment to the Hispanic market and launched a newb~nd

of culturally relevant greeting cards called Hallmark en Espaiiol. Re"cently, Hallmark expanded its commitment by launching Since-ramente Hallmark, a line of more than 2,500 cards for everyday

occasions and holidays.

Hallmark's early research used online focus groups to ere-

.ate new messages for the line extension: The creative team,

I which includes Hispanic artists and writers, talked extensively

to Hispanic consumers to gain insights into relevant designs and

messages. While the extensive line includes year-round prod-

.. ,ucts for. birthdays, love, weddings, and anniversaries, it also

.···r66ntai~s cards for special days of celebration, like Quinceaiiera (a

.special celebration of a girl's 15th birthday) and Dia de los Reyes(a celebration of the arrival of the three wise men in Betblehem),

among others. Sinceramenie Hallmark includes bilingual cards,

combining Spanish and English words-reflecting how manyHispanlcsspesk-cas well as digital cards available from the

" "Hallmark website. The top five markets for Hispanic card sales

are (1) Los Angeles, (2) Miami, (3) Chicago, (4) New York, and

(5) San Francisco.

www.hallmark.com


As; hrill.,vuestro IUl

ddrtOlc de los homhrcs.

IkUd que vcon

vucstros huent1s eccionos

}' glorifiquen c.'vuestro Pddre

qU(~ cstd en k'lS (.:iclll•••••eoS:16(l..M.A)

Cover. May God bless you, Quinceaiiera.Let your light shine before men in sudh a way that theymay see your good works, and glorify your Father who is inheaven. Matthew 5:16 (NAS/3).Inside: You have the light of the Lord IWithin you ..• the lightthat can be seen in everything about you ... And today youbegin the radiant life of a lovely woman! Happy Birthday.

Telephone Focus Groups In traditional focus groups, participants meet face-to-face, usually inspecialized facilities that enable respondents to interact in a comfortable setting while being observedby a sponsoring client. However, often there is a need to reach people that face-to-face groups cannotattract. With modern telephone conferencing facilities, telephone focus groups can be particularlyeffective in the foJlowing situations:

'.' When it is difficult to recruit desired participants-members of elite groups and hard-to-findrespondents such as experts, professionals, physician specialists, high-level executives, and storeowners.

o When target group members are rare, "low incidence," or widely dispersed geographically-directors of a medical clinic, celebrities, early adopters, and rural practitioners.

'.' When issues are so sensitive that anonymity is needed but respondents must be from a widegeographic area-people suffering from a contagious disease, people using non mainstreamproducts, high-income individuals, competitors. ;

" When you want to conduct only a couple of focus groups but want nationwide representation.

1190 >part" TheDesignof BusinessResearch

Extracting insights from data, conveying those insights ~'IJliiiiiMI·iiWii'iii:jli!i!.fWi!i· iililiiltpiiiliiliiliiliiliiliiliiiiiliiii.iiiiiA.iii!~~~.",Jf:li:%~"'~.mf:y.?F.':·-:..Jil[Jogj· E~X

~:ct~:i::~ed m:~e;~~S:ni~S:;~::e:t~ns~:~:~~:~le~~: .;~~.n'.~~~:~,:.::"'"" r_.k~~~'O"-'-~..--.....-,• h "Th d .. TOPI.C;'· VjdoetMerbr Demo ' • ,,],or most researc ers. e power to convince eClslon Cid" Io_V •••••••••w' ....••....•...makers is often locked in the footage of such interviews," . M'. Wh." ••••••

~ Ak..., ••.

shares Peter Houlahan. president and COO of Focus- • > ~.:':.:"'" W'0.' 00,,,,,.r '-<,Vision. FocusVision, a company that provides more than • fr" H." uf.ty cap dui,,,,

• ~ G~u•• ,k; b.and i, b.tt ••.•• ru. 00,02,33 r280 facilitiesworldwide with services for videoconferencefocus groups and individualdepth interviews (IDls),devel·oped new technology for this purpose: VideoMarker. Clientsplug ill their laptop (in a viewing room or their office viavideostreaming technology). While watching the event,when they see footage they want to mark, they click onthe "VideoMark" button above the video area on their

I PC. A pop-up textbox allows the client to enter a note.The note is automaticallycoded with a time mark and thename of its creator. When the event is complete, video of the

',e'ntireproject and all notes arearchivedfor immediateaccess (bypasswordi-andrecorded on a CD-ROM that is sent to the client.Researcherscan then createvideo clips to share with colleaguesvia e-rnaii,embed in documents or PowerPoint presentations,or

Igroup together into highlight reels."The capability to show actualfootage when presenting research results is especially relevantwhen clients.aren't present to watch behind a one-way mirror orwhen they participate via videoconferencingor videostreaming,"

00,03:37 r

00'01:26 r

offers Houlahan. One pharmaceutical company arranged tointerview patients in more than seven hours of focus groups.With VideoMarker, researcherscaptured (he highlights,which werethen-with the patients' consent-incorporated into 101 researchwith physicians."Theseresearchhighlightswere the key motiva-tional tool used to persuade doctors to change how they pre-scribed the company's product."

www.focusvision.com

Telephone focus groups are usually shorter than traditional groups, averagini about one hour. Partici-pants could be in their own offices or homes or be brought to a central location with the necessary equipment.Telephone focus groups are usually less expensive than face-to-face focus groups-by up to 40 percent.

In contrast to face-to-face groups, heterogeneous telephone groups can be productive. People in tra-ditional superior-subordinate roles can be mixed as long as they are not from t~e same city. A telephonefocus group is less likely to be effective under the following conditions: I

o When participants need to handle a product.

0. When an object of discussion cannot be sent through the mail in advance.

r, When sessions will run long.

o When the participants are groups of young children.

Online Focus Groups An emerging technique for exploratory research is to approximate groupdynamics using e-rnail, websites, Usenet newsgroups, or an Internet chat room. It is possible to do"live" voice chats online, reducing or eliminating the cost associated with Itelephone focus groups.Posting questions to a newsgroup with an interest in the research problem can generate considerablediscussion. However, online discussions are not confidential unless they take place on an intranet.Although online forum discussions are unlikely to reflect the average participants, they can be a

good way of getting in touch with populations that have special interests (e.g., BMW club members,little league coaches, or "power computer users"). Online focus groups have also proved to be

->chapter 7 QualitativeResearch

effective with teens and young adults, as well as technically employed segments of the market, thoseessentially comfortable with computer use. They are especially valuable when a computer-basedapplication, such as software or a game, is the topic of group discussion. The technology permitsuse oflvisual images of materials (e.g., ads or product concepts) but retains the barrier between thegroup and the moderator. On line focus groups are a trade-off. What you gain in speed and access,you gilve up in insights extracted from group dynamics, the flexibility to use nonverbal language as asource of data, and the moderator's ability to use physical presence to influence openness and depthof response.

I

Videoconferencing Focus Groups Videoconferencing is another technology used withgroupl interviews. Many researchers anticipate growth for this methodology. Like telephone focusgroups videoconferencing enables significant. s~yings. By reducing the travel time for the moderatorand t~e client, coordinating such groups can be accomplished in a shorter time. However, videoconfer-encing retains the barrier between the moderator and participants, although less so than the telephonefocusgroup. Since large corporations and universities are more likely to have their own internal video-conferencing facilities, most videoconferencing focus groups wi!l tend to occur within this setting, thusreducing the breadth of participants to those who can access these specialized facilities.

:~eGording,Analyzinq, and Reportinq Group interviews

In face-to-face settings, some moderators use large sheets of paper on the wall of the gro p room torecortl trends; others use a personal notepad. Facility managers produce both video- and audiotapes'to

'enable:afuILanalysis of the interview. The verbal portion of the group interview is transcribed alongwith.rnoderator debriefing sessions and added to moderator notes. These are analyzed across severalfocus group sessions using content analysis. This analytical process provides the research sponsorwith a qualitative picture of the respondents' concerns, ideas, attitudes, and feelings. The preliminaryprofile of the content of a group interview is often done with computer software in content analysis (for'exarnple,N6,mentioned in the opening vignette). Such software searches for common phrasing andwords, context, and patterns of expression on digitized transcripts.

> Combining Qualitative Methodologies(i·_~aseStUdy21

The case study, also referred to as the case history, is a powerful research methodology that comb~nes·indil idual and (sometimes) group interviews with record analysis and observation. Researchers extractinformation from company brochures, annual reports, sales receipts, and newspaper and magazineartiqles, along with direct observation (usually done in the participant's "natural" setting), and com-bine it with interview data from participants. The objective is to obtain multiple perspectives of asingle organization, situation, event, or process at a point in time or over a period of time. Case siudymethodology-or the written report from such a research project often called a case analysis or casewrite-up=scsiv be used to understand particular processes. For example, one study might evaluate 'newproduct development processes for similarities, especially the use of outside consultants, ideationaltechniques, and computer simulation. Another study might examine in detail the purchaser's resppnseto a stimulus like a display. The results of the research could be used to experiment with modificationsof the new product development process or with display selection and placement processes to gener-ate higher-value transactions. The research problem is usually a how and why problem, resulting in adescriptive or explanatory study. I

Researchers select the specific organizations or situations to profile because these examples orlsub-jects offer critical, extreme, or unusual cases. Researchers most oftenchoose multiple subjects, rftherthan a single subject, to study because of the opportunity for cross-case analysis. In studying multiplesubjects, a deeper understanding of the subject emerges. When multiple units are chosen, it is becausethey offer similar results for predictable reasons (literal replication) or contrary results for predictable

181

< ~ •


reasons (theoretical replication). While theoretical sampling seems to be common, a minimum of4 cases with a maximum of 15 seems to be favored.

In the case study, interview participants are invited to tell the story of their experience, with thosechosen representing different levels within the same organization or different perspectives of the samesituation or process to permit depth of perspective. The flexibility of the case study approach and theemphasis on understanding the context of the subject being studied allow for a richness of understand-ing sometimeslabeled thick description.

During analysis, a single case analysis is always performed before any cross-case analysis is con-ducted. The emphasis is on what differences occur, why, and with what effect. Prescriptive inferencesabout best practices are concluded after completing case studies on several organizations or situationsand are speculative in nature.

Students are quite familiar with studying cases as a means of learning business principles. In Search'of Excellence, a book by To~ Peters and Robert Waterman, was developed using case study methodol-ogy." Other similar studies profiled in books written on Procter & Gamble and Disney have also usedthis methodology. In the business arena, such case studies have examined changes in new productdevelopment, sales processes, hiring practices, and training programs.

Action ResearchManagers conduct research in order to gain insights to make decisions in specific scenarios. Actionresearch is designed to address complex, practical problems about which little is known-thus noknown heuristics exist. So the scenario is studied; a corrective action is determined, planned, andimplemented; the results of the action are observed and recorded; and the action is assessed as ef-fective or not. .The process isrepeated until a desired outcome is reached,but along the way muchis learned about the processes and about the presc.riptive actionsbeing stu1died, Action researchersinvestigate the effects of applied solutions. Whatever theories are developed are validated throughpractical application." I

Suppose a restaurant that had never received a customer complaint 'earns its' first 'challenge by adisgruntled diner. If no general rule existed about how to treat unhappy patrons, the organization couldstudy the situation and come up with alternative actions. It might:

• Ignore the problem. (Its lack of experience would prevent it from knowing that negative word ofmouth-negative buzz-would be the likely result.)

Do whatever is necessary to replace the unsatisfactory meal within the srortest period of time.

Accept the current circumstance as uncorrectable, apologize to the customer, and remedy thesituation by picking up the table's full dining tab and offering the customer a free meal to gethim or her back in the restaurant another day.

In action research, one of those alternatives would be chosen and implemented, and then the resultsrecorded. Was the customer happy when he or she left? Did the customer return to dine anotherevening or never return again? Over the next three months, what was the!customer's full revenuevalue? If the customer didn't return, the next time a disgruntled customer voiced dissatisfaction,a different action would be chosen, implemented, and then assessed in comparison to the firstoption's results.

=- Merging Qualitative and QuantitativeMethodologies

Triangulation is the term used to describe the combining of several qualitative methods or combining

qualitative with quantitative methods. Because of the controversy described earlier, qualitative studiesmay be combined with quantitative ones to increase the perceived quality of the research, especially

t·

schapter 7 QualitativeResearch 183

when a quantitative study follows a qualitative one and provides validation for the qualitative findings.Fqur strategies for combining methodologies are common in business research:"

1. Qualitative and quantitative studies can be conducted simultaneously.

2. A qualitative study can be ongoing while multiple waves of quantitative studies are done, mea-suring changes in behavior and attitudes over time.

3. A qualitative study can precede a quantitative study, and a second qualitative study then mightfollow the quantitative study, seeking more clarification.

4. A quantitative study can precede a qualitative study.

IAn example of the first strategy would be the combination of a public opinion poll at the time focusgroups are being held to discover ways to sway a particular public's opinion. For the second strategy,we; might collect life histories while multiple waves of questionnaires are measuring the response todij'fering promotional tactics. For the third, we could perform a qualitative study to identify peoples'behaviors and perceptions with respect to furniture shopping processes and interior decorating; then wecould use that information to develop a quantitative study to measure the actual frequency ofbehaviorsand attitudes. And, fourth, we might survey people's behavior and attitudes toward a brand and find weneed some IDIs to explain findings that are unclear.

Many researchers recognize that qualitative research compensates for the weaknesses of quantita-tive research and vice versa. These forward thinkers believe that the methodologies complement ratherthan rival each other.

I '.r-»surnmary

1. ·Qualitative.research includes an array of interpretiveJ techniquesthat seek to describe, decode, translate,

and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not thefrequency, of certain more or less naturally occurringphenomena in the social world. Qualitative research meth-odologies differ from quantitative methodologies based onthe focus of the research; its purpose; researcher involve-ment; sampling design; sample size; research design,including participant pretasking; data source, type, andpreparation; methods of data analysis; level of insightsand meaning extracted; research sponsor involvement;speed of the research; and data security. A qualitativemethodology may be used alone to address organizationalproblems or in combination with other qualitative or quan-titative methodologies.

2 While qualitative research is being used increasingly be-cause of the methodologies' ability to generate deeperunderstanding, it still is perceived by many senior-level ex-ecutives as a stepchild of quantitative data collection. This isprimarily due to qualitative research's use of nonprobabilitysampling, the smaller sample sizes involved, and the non-projectability of the results to a broader, target population.

3 Qualitative research is designed to tell the researcher 'hciw(process) and why (meaning) things happen as they do:lnbusiness planning and decision making, qualitative meth-

odologies are used in market segmentation; advertisingcreative development; new product development, especially

concepttestinq; sales analysis; sales developrnent: pack-age design; brand development and assessment, especiallyunderstanding brand value; positioning; retail design; andunderstanding various processes, I including consumers'decision-making processes. In data analysis, qualitativeresearch uses content analysis of written or recordedmaterials drawn from personal expressions by participants,behavioral observations, and deb~iefing of observers, as wellas the study of artifacts and trace evidence from the physi-cal environment.

4 Qualitative methodologies used in decision making evolvedfrom techniques used in anthropology, sociology, psychol-ogy, linguistics, communication, economics, and semiotics.Common among these strategies are the individual depthinterview (IDJ)and the group interview, as well as observa-tion, ethnography, action researcf' and grounded theory.Within group interviews, the focus group is the most widelyused methodology.

Oualitative research often uses projective techniques,designed to encourage the participant to reveal in detaildeeply suppressed attitudes, opinions, feelings, and experi-ences. Among these techniques are word or picture asso-

.dation, sentence completion, cartoons or empty balloons,

. the 'Thematic Apperception Test,limagination exercises, andsorting exercises. Participant preparation and the actual

qualitative sessions themselves often include various cre-ativity sessions and exercises.

I,-~

184 >part 11 TheDesignof BusinessResearch

case study (case history) 181

individual depth interview (IOI)-Cant.

grounded theory 174-

life histories 174

action research 182

computer-assisted personal interview(eAPI) 173

projective techniques-Cant

ambiguities and paradoxes 172

authority figure 172

imaginary universe 172

personification 172

visitor from another planet 172

laddering or benefit chain 172

~etaPhorlelicitation technique 172

semantic mapping 172

brand ~apPing 172

content analysis 181

focus groups 177

online 180

oral history (narrative) 174

sequential interviewing(chronologic interviewing) 174

interview 168

-~e'inistructured -168telephone 179

videoconferencing 181

group interview 175

expert group 175

heterogeneous group 175

homogeneous group 175

structured 169

unstructured 168

interview guide (discussion guide) 169

moderator 168SE!OSOrysorts 171

sentence completion 171

Thematic Apperception Test 171

word or picture association 171nonexpert group 175

individual depth interview (101) 172

I convergent interviewing 174

critical incident technique 174

cultural interviews 174

nonprobability sampling 167

pretasking 164

projective techniques 171

cartoons or empty balloons 171

component sorts 171

imagination exercises 172

ethnography 174

~discussionquestionsI

Tbrms in ReviewHow does qualitative research differ from quantitativeresearch?

2 How do data from qualitative research differ from data inquantitative research?

3 Why do senior executives feel more comfortable relying onquantitative data than qualitative data? How might a quali-tative research company lessen the senior-level executive'sskepticism?

4 Distinguish between structured, semistructured, and un-structured interviews.

MaKing Hesearch Uecisions5 Assume you are a manufacturer of small kitchen electrics,

like Hamilton Beach/Proctor Silex, and you want to de-termine if some innovative designs with unusual shapesand colors developed for the European market could besuccessfully marketed in the U.S. market. What qualitative

research would you recommend, and why?

qualitative research 160

quantitative rbsearch 161

recruitment sb'reener 170

trianqulation 182

6 Assume you are Hallmark. (See the Snapshot on page 179.)You have identified four new the~es for your Hispanic-targeted cards, Sinceramente Hallmark. You now need researchto help your card designers create cards that correctlyexecute those themes, What research should you do now?

Brin~ing Research to Life7 What dilemma does HealthPlus face, and why has the

company turned tc focus groups for insiqnts?

r"rnn-l Concept to Practice I8 Use Exhibit 7-7 to develop the rFcruitment screener for the

research you described in your answer to question 5.

9 Conduct a focus group among students in your class onone of the following topics:

a our department's problems offering requirementsand electives essential for meeting your graduationexpectations.

b Entertainment sponsored by your university to bring the

community on campus.

i:mrn the Headlines10 NCR Corporation, known as a world leader in ATMs, point-

of-sale (PaS) retail checkout scanners, and check-in kiosksat airports, announced in June 2009 that it would move itsworld headquarters from Dayton (OH) to Duluth (GA),a sub-urb of Atlanta, after more than 125 years. An employer of1,200 mostly high-salaried, professional workers in Dayton,NCR was enticed to move by Georgia's offer of more than$56.9 million in tax credits; its fast-growing, educated 25- to

Akron Children'S Hospital

Covering Kids with Health Care

Lexus SC 430

NCRCC: Teeing Up a New StrategicDirection

Ohio Lottery: Innovative ResearchDesign Drives Winning

>chapter 7 ClualitativeResearch 185

34-year-old population cohort; international offices for10 European state governments; and the busiest interna-tional airport (Atlanta) in the world.

a What qualitative research might NCR have done toreach this decision?

b NCR will use its move to Georgia to down size its worldheadquarters workforce. What qualitative researchcould help NCR determine which of its 1,200 employ-ees will be offered positions in Duluth?

Open Doors: Extending i-:'ospitality toTravelers with Disabilities

Ramada Demonstrates Its PersonalBestTM

Starbucks, Bank One, and VisaLaunch Starbucks Card Duetto Visa

USTA: Come Out Swinging

'You will find a description of each case in the Case Abstracts section of this textbook. Check the Case Index todetermine whether a case provides data. the research instrument. video, or other supplementary material. Written casesare down loadable from the text website (www.mhhe.com/cooper11e). All video material and video cases are avail-able from the Online Learning Center. The film reel icon indicates a video case or video material relevam' to the case.

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